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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. rule — government
  3. root — of a word
  4. degree — an amount
  5. face — to confront
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. kick — in football
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. face — part of the head
  18. root — the cause
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rule — a law
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. rush — hurry
  23. content — happy
  24. root — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com